A committee of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) narrowly passed an overture to the full assembly late Tuesday that would redefine the denomination's definition of marriage from being between a "man and a woman" to "two people."

The Civil Union & Marriage committee passed an overture to amend the definition by a vote of 28 to 24. More than 600 commissioners present at the GA will get to vote.

A related, but separate overture also passed, which calls for a two-year "season of serious study and discernment" about the meaning of Christian marriage.

Under the overture, all presbyteries and congregations would receive resource materials including relevant Scripture and "guidance for prayerful and reconciling ways of listening to one another."

All presbyteries would be required to report to the Office of General Assembly on how the study was conducted by their congregations at least three months prior to the 221st General Assembly.

Commissioners on both sides of the issue expressed fear about being unfaithful to God's call.

The committee also recommended that the full Assembly disapprove issuing an "Authoritative Interpretation" of scripture that would allow teaching elders to perform same-sex marriages in states where those marriages are legal.